The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has detained a Polish-American businessman suspected of contracting the killing of Poland's ex-national police commander General Marek Papala in 1998, Poland's justice minister said Friday, according to dpa. Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro confirmed Poland's request to the US to extradite Mazur for trial. The procedure was under way Friday, but it remained unclear when the US would actually hand-over the suspect. "We understand this is a long procedure...but we believe this is the beginning of the road to putting Mr. Edward Mazur before a court and bringing him to justice," Ziobro said. Polish justice officials said Mazur would be arraigned before a US court in Chicago later Friday. Polish investigators had "hard evidence that Edward Mazur was involved in the murder of the former national police commander of Poland," Ziobro told reporters in Warsaw Friday evening. Papala was gunned down in the parking lot next to his Warsaw home on June 25, 1998. No one has been convicted in connection with the crime. Police also investigated rumours he assassination was linked to shady business dealings and kick-backs for political parties, but no findings were made public. It was believed Papala had known "too much" about these murky issues. Ziobro said solving the case and bringing to justice those responsible for the high-profile assassination was "matter of honour" for Poland's justice authorities.
